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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Tantalize Fans Unite! Group Recommends YA Gothic Fantasy Novels

Members of the Tantalize Fans Unite! group at MySpace cheered their favorite gothic fantasies this past month. Highlighted books included those published for both the grown-up and young adult markets; however only the tween and teen (YA) titles are listed herein. Grouping sequels and/or companion books together (to the extent I recognize them), recommendations included:

THE AFTERLIFE by Gary Soto (Harcourt, 2003)(author interview from Harcourt). In this sometimes funny, sometimes bittersweet story, Chuy is murdered, stabbed with a knife only to find…not an end, but a new beginning. As a ghostly being, he visits family and friends. He finds the young man he could've been and maybe even true love. This isn't a story of "too late." It's one of "just in time."

BEATING HEART: A GHOST STORY by A.M. Jenkins (HarperCollins, 2006). From the promotional copy: "She is a momentary chill in warm sunlight, a shadow glimpsed from the corner of an eye, and a memory of secret kisses and hidden passion. He is seventeen years old, waiting for the start of his senior year, and ever since his family moved into this big old house--abandoned for decades--he has dreamt of her. Hot, wordless dreams that turn more intense and darker each night. Ghost and boy fascinate each other--until her memories and his desire collide in a moment that changes them both forever."

THE BLOODING by Patricia Windsor (Scholastic, 1996). When Maris decides she's had enough of her mother's constant picking, a summer au pair job seems like a perfect escape. But she quickly finds that the Forrest house isn't as peaceful as it seems. Maris begins to wonder about the unknown beast in the woods, whether Barb Forrest is insane, and why Derek Forrest inspires such conflicting emotions. As much of a psychological study as a horror novel.

BLUE BLOODS by Melissa De La Cruz (Hyperion, 2006)(excerpt). From the promotional copy: "Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food--and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a girl from her school is found dead...drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn’t know what to think. Could those vampire legends really be true? Steeped in vampire lore and set against the heady backdrop of the rich, young, and powerful in the heart of New York City..." Don't miss the companion book, MASQUERADE (Hyperion, 2007). Visit Melissa's blog and Melissa at MySpace.

THE BLUE GIRL by Charles De Lent (Viking, 2004). From the author site: "...here's your introduction to Imogene and her best friend Maxine, a couple of outcasts at Redding High who find that getting pushed around by the other kids in school is the least of their worries."

BOYS THAT BITE by Mari Mancusi (Berkeley Trade, 2006) (author interview from Slayground)(excerpt). From the author site: "My mom is so going to kill me if she finds out I'm turning into a vampire... Okay, so technically she can't because I'm immortal. Well, not yet. See, due to the worst case of mistaken identity with my dark-side-loving twin sister at a Goth hangout called Club Fang, Magnus, a vampire hottie, went for my innocent neck instead of hers. Now, if I don't reverse it in time, Magnus will be my blood mate forever and I'm doomed to be a blood-gulping, pasty, daylight-hating vmapire. Believe me, it seriously bites!" Don't miss the companion book, STAKE THAT! (Berkeley Trade, 2006)(excerpt). Visit Mari at MySpace.

CITY OF BONES (Book One of the Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare (author interview from BC Books)(excerpt). From Class of 2K7: "City of Bones is the first book of the Mortal Instruments Trilogy, a dark urban fantasy series about a sixteen-year old girl, Clary Fray, who lives in New York with her single mother, an artist. She comes home one night to find her apartment ransacked, her mother gone—and a slavering demon ready to tear off her head. Clary’s search for her mother leads her into an alternate New York filled with hideous demons, hard-partying warlocks, not-what-they-seem vampires, an army of werewolves and the scariest thing of all: the secrets of her own family’s past. She also finds herself torn between two boys—her best friend Simon, for whom she’s developing new feelings, and the mysterious demon hunter Jace, who has a past more tangled than her own. She becomes a part of the secret word of the demon hunters, or Nephilim, and as she does she discovers that rescuing her mother might mean putting their whole world in jeopardy." Read Cassandra's LJ. Visit Cassandra at MySpace.

COMPANIONS OF THE NIGHT by Vivian Vande Velde (Harcourt, 1995)(author interview). Thinking she's stumbled into a crime scene, Kerry, 16, helps Ethan escape from the seemingly crazy men who claim he is a vampire. But soon after her family is kidnapped, Kerry realizes that maybe they weren't so crazy after. Worse, she can't think of anyone better to help her find vampires than a vampire himself. But will Ethan turn into the love of her life or the creature who takes it?

DEMON IN MY VIEW by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (Laurel Leaf, 2001). From the promotional copy: "Jessica isn't your average teenager. Though nobody at her high school knows it, her vampire novel has just come out under a pen name. Jessica often wishes that she felt as comfortable with her classmates as she does among the vampires and witches of her fiction. She has always been treated as an outsider at Ramsa High. But two new students have just arrived in Ramsa, and both want Jessica's attention. She has no patience for overly friendly Caryn, but she's instantly drawn to Alex, a handsome boy who seems surprisingly familiar. If she didn't know better, she'd think that Aubrey, the alluring villain from her novel, had just sprung to life. That's impossible, of course; Aubrey is a figment of her imagination. Or is he?" Author Amelia Atwater-Rhodes body of work (as a whole) also was recommended. Learn more about her many books at Wikipedia and visit The Den of Shadows and Amelia's MySpace.

DEVILISH by Maureen Johnson (Razorbill, 2006)(excerpt). From the promotional copy: "The only thing that makes St. Teresa's Preparatory School for Girls bearable for Jane is her best friend Ally. But when Ally changes into a whole different person literally overnight the fall of their senior year, Jane's suddenly alone—-and very confused. Turns out, Ally has sold her soul in exchange for popularity—-to a devil masquerading as a sophomore at St. Teresa's! Now it's up to Jane to put it all on the line to save her friend from this ponytail-wearing, cup-cake-nibbling demon...without losing her own soul in the process.This YA take on Faust in a Catholic girls' high school is clever, fun, and full of tasty surprises." Read Maureen's blog.

EIGHTH GRADE BITES (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod) by Heather Brewer (Dutton, 2007)(excerpt). From the promotional copy: "Junior high school really sucks for thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod, and not in the good slurp-up-the-blood kind of way. A gang of bullies harasses him daily, the principal is dogging his every move, and the girl he really likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has to hide the fact that he's a vampire. When the one teacher he really connects with mysteriously vanishes, Vlad is determined to find him. But then Vlad finds an unsettling note scribbled across his essay: 'I know your secret.' Vlad must locate his missing teacher, dodge the principal, resist the bullies’ tempting invitations to Bite me!, and get a date for the dance—all before he is exposed for the teen vampire he is." Note: Heather is a member of our group! Visit Heather's MySpace.

GLASS HOUSES (Book One of the Morganville Vampire Series) by Rachel Caine (NAL/JAM, 2006)(author interview). From the promotional copy: "Welcome to Morganville, Texas. Just don't stay out after dark. College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation, where the popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks in the school's social scene: somewhere less than zero. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life. But they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood." Don't miss the companion book, DEAD GIRLS DANCE (NAL/JAM, 2007).

GOT FANGS? CONFESSIONS OF A VAMPIRE'S GIRLFRIEND by Katie Maxwell (2005). From the promotional copy: "All sixteen-year-old Francesca Getti wants to do is have a normal life where she's one of the crowd, blending in so no one will know just how much of a freak she is. Dragged to Europe by her mother to join GothFaire, a travelling band of psychics, magicians, and assorted other oddities, Fran has to cope with not only the normal angst of always being a fish out of water, but also with her own fate as a psychometrist. Enter one Moravian Dark One (referred to by most people as vampires) named Benedikt who claims Fran is the key to redeeming his soul, a mysterious horse who seems to have an involved past, an immortal friend who remembers what Mozart was like, and a demonologist who thinks he's Elvis, and you can understand why Fran despairs of ever fitting in." Don't miss the companion book, CIRCUS OF THE DARNED (2006).

I WAS A TEENAGE FAIRY by Francesca Lia Block (HarperCollins, 2000). From the promotional copy: "This is the story of Barbie Marks, who dreams of being the one behind the Cyclops eye of the camera, not the voiceless one in front of it; who longs to run away to New York City where she can be herself, not some barley flesh-and-blood version of the plastic doll she was named after. It is the story of Griffin Tyler, whose androgynous beauty hides the dark pain he holds inside. And finally it is the story of Mab, a pinkie-sized, magenta-haired, straight-talking fairy, who may or may not be real but who helps Barbie and Griffin uncover the strength beneath the pain, and who teaches that love--like a sparkling web of light spinning around our bodies and our souls--is what can heal even the deepest scars."

LOOK FOR ME BY MOONLIGHT by Mary Downing Hahn (Clarion, 1995). Cynda's fight with her mother and new stepfather over moving to Italy results in Cynda being shipped off to live with her father, pregnant stepmother, and five-year-old half brother at their historic inn in Maine. Cynda, 16, is fascinated first by rumors that the inn is haunted and then by Will, the grandson of the cleaning woman. But then appears a guest, Vincent--an older, sophisticated, and attentive man who seems to be the only one who really understands the displacement Cynda is feeling in her family life. Apparent sympathy grows into apparent romance, but it quickly turns more bitter than sweet.

THE LOOKING GLASS WARS by Frank Beddor (Dial, 2006). According to Wikipedia, "Inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, it claims that those two books were nothing but lies and that this is the true story. It has a twist on the story like the white rabbit is actually Alyss's (Alice's) tutor, Bibwit Harte, and that the Mad Hatter is actually a very agile, sober bodyguard."

MARKED: A HOUSE OF NIGHT NOVEL by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (St. Martin's Press). Note: I couldn't find a promotional description, so see the video trailer. Read P.C.'s blog.

OLD MAGIC by Marianne Curley (Bloomsbury). From the promotional copy: "Kate is at a loss. She meets a boy with extraordinary powers and a bizarre family history that can be traced back to the Middle Ages. But Jarrod doesn't believe in the paranormal. When Kate tries to convince him that he has supernatural powers that need to be harnessed, he doesn't take her seriously, and only puts up with her 'hocus pocus' notions because he finds her captivating. However, the dangerous, uncontrolled strengthening of his gift finally convinces Jarrod that he must take Kate's theories seriously. Together, they embark on a remarkable journey – one which will unravel the mystery that has hung over Jarrod's family for generations and finds them pitted against immense forces in a battle to undo the past and reshape the future."

OVER AND OVER YOU by Amy McAuley (Roaring Brook, 2005)(author interview). Penny is haunted by vivid dreams that feel so real, almost as if they...were? After being tipped off by a psychic, she's starting to consider extreme possibilities, destinies, and even true love. Penny's voice is engaging, her plight compelling, and her command of historical factoids inspirational. A wonderful choice for romantics, fantasy fans, and those who appreciate psychic (and psychological) puzzles. Visit Amy's MySpace.

PEEPS by Scott Westerfeld (Razorbill, 2005)(author interview). From the promotional copy: "Cal was infected by a parasite that has a truly horrifying effect on its host. Cal himself is a carrier, unchanged by the parasite, but he's infected the girlfriends he's had since Morgan. All three have turned into the ravening ghouls Cal calls Peeps. The rest of us know them as vampires. It's Cal's job to hunt them down before they can create more of their kind. . . ." Don't miss the companion book, THE LAST DAYS (Razorbill, 2006)(excerpt). Read Scott's blog.

PROM DATES FROM HELL by Rosemary Clement-Moore (Delacorte, 2007). From the promotional copy: "Maggie Quinn, Girl reporter. Honors student, newspaper staffer, yearbook photographer. Six weeks from graduation and all she wants to do is get out of Avalon High in one piece. Fate seems to have different plans for her. ...it's up to her to get in touch with her inner Nancy Drew and ferret out who unleashed the ancient evil before all hell breaks loose. Maggie has always suspected that prom is the work of the devil, but it looks like her attendance will be mandatory. Sometimes a girl's got to do some pretty undesirable things if she wants to save her town from soul-crushing demons from hell and the cheerleading squad."

RED IS FOR REMEMBRANCE by Laurie Faria Stolarz (Llewellyn, 2006)(author interview). From the promotional copy: "Nothing has been the same for eighteen-year-old Stacey since her boyfriend Jacob died. For months she stayed at the beach cottage they shared before Jacob's tragic accident, refusing to give up hope that somehow, somewhere, Jacob was still alive. But Stacey knows she can't put off rejoining the world forever. Lucky to have a full scholarship to prestigious Beacon University, Stacey hopes she can finally put her past behind her. Trying to get through her first week of college as just another normal student, Stacey is devastated when she starts having more disturbing dreams. And keeping them secret is not an option when the college president calls her in for a private meeting--and reveals that his daughter Porsha is having nightmares too. But while Stacey dreams of a ghost, Porsha is dreaming of a murder she's convinced hasn't happened yet. Porsha's fragmented nightmares foretell a brutal murder, and may also shed light on a shocking revelation that could change Stacey's life forever. Together the two must decode their dark dreams to save a life--a risk that may cost them their own." Note: the entire BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES series (Llewellyn, 2003-) by Laurie was recommended.

THE RIDDLE OF THE WREN by Charles De Lent (Firebird, 2002). From the promotional copy: "Minda Sealy is afraid of her own nightmares. Then, one night, while asleep, she meets Jan, the Lord of the Moors, who has been imprisoned by Ildran the Dream-master-the same being who traps Minda. In exchange for her promise to free him, Jan gives Minda three tokens. She sets out, leaving the safety of her old life to begin a journey from world to world, both to save Jan and to solve 'the riddle of the Wren'--which is the riddle of her very self."

THE ROSE AND THE BEAST by Francesca Lia Block (1993). From the author site: "Beauty, Snow White, Rose Red—you've met them all in many incarnations. But you haven't met Charm or Snow or Tiny, not as Francesca has imagined them. Within her singular, timeless landscapes, the brutal and the beautiful collide. Here, the heroine triumphs because of the strength she finds in a pen, a paintbrush, a lover, a friend, a mother, and, finally, herself."

TANTALIZE by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Candlewick, 2007). Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her hybrid-werewolf first love threatens to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever. And just as she and her uncle are about to debut Austin's red hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef. Can Quincie transform the new hire into a culinary dark lord before opening night? Will Henry Johnson be able to wow the crowd in fake fangs, a cheap cape, and red contact lenses? Or is there more to this earnest fresh face than meets the eye? As human and preternatural forces clash, a deadly love triangle forms and the line between predator and prey begins to blur. Who's playing whom? And how long can Quincie play along before she loses everything?

THIRSTY by M. T. Anderson (Candlewick, 1997)(excerpt). In a world where everybody knows vampires really exist, Chris finds himself becoming one. It's hard enough dealing with his family, the growing distance between him and his friends, and the enigmatic quality of the girl his likes. Then an entity calling himself "Chet" ask Chris to help save humanity. But it's not clear if Chet is really on the side of good or evil, and with each passing day, Chris finds himself growing more thirsty. A must-read for vampire comedy fans.

TITHE: A MODERN FAEIRE TALE by Holly Black (Simon & Schuster, 2002)(author interview). Kaye Fierch has been passing through life as a blond Asian, connecting with fairies but not counting herself among them...until now. Excellent juxtaposition of the fantasy elements against the New Jersey setting. Some readers may be familiar with Black from the Spiderwick Chronicle Series (for the younger set). Don't miss the companion book, VALIANT: A MODERN TALE OF FAERIE (Simon & Schuster, 2005).

TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown, 2005)(author interview). From the promotional copy: ""Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife—between desire and danger." Don't miss the companion book, NEW MOON (Little Brown, 2006), and look for the forthcoming ECLIPSE (Little Brown, 2007).

UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld (Simon & Schuster, 2003)(author interview)(excerpt). From the author site: "UGLIES is the first book of the trilogy. The second book is PRETTIES and the third is SPECIALS. It's about a world in which everyone has an operation when they turn sixteen, making them supermodel beautiful. Big eyes, full lips, no one fat or skinny. This seems like a good thing, but it's not. Especially if you're one of the uglies, a bunch of radical teens who've decided they want to keep their own faces. (How anti-social of them.)" Read Scott's blog.

VAMPIRATES: DEMONS OF THE OCEAN by Justin Somper (Little Brown). From the promotional copy: "Twins, Connor and Grace, never dreamed that there was any truth to the Vampirate shanty their father sang to them before he died, but that was before the two were shipwrecked and separated from each other. For Connor, who is taken aboard a pirate ship, there's the chance to learn to sword-fight, but for Grace, aboard a mysterious ship of vampire pirates, the danger is great. The twins want more than anything to find each other, but their time is limited and they're an ocean apart." Visit the UK edition site. Note: middle grade novel.

THE VAMPIRE'S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER by S.P. Somtow (Atheneum, 1997). From the promotional copy: "Life isn't easy for Johnny Shapiro, despite his mother's success as the author of a book about his Lakota grandfather. He finds it hard to 'fit in' in his new school--until he meets Rebecca, a new student as well, and the half-human daughter of a vampire."

VAMPIRE HIGH by Douglas Rees (Delacorte, 2003). From the promotional copy: "It doesn’t take long for Cody Elliot to realize that his new high school is a little different. The other students are supernaturally strong, don’t like the sunlight, and are always placing orders at the local blood bank. When his new friend shows him his fangs, Cody doesn’t need any more clues—these kids are vampires! As Cody struggles to fit into this secretive community, he disrupts centuries of human-vampire segregation, with some serious—and some seriously funny—consequences."

VAMPIRE KISSES by Ellen Schreiber (HarperCollins, 2003)(excerpt). From the promotional copy: " In her small town dubbed 'Dullsville,' sixteen-year-old Raven-a vampire-crazed, goth-girl-is an outcast. But not for long... The intriguing and rumored-to-be haunted mansion on top of Benson Hill has stood vacant and boarded-up for years. That is, until its mysteriously strange new occupants move in. Who are these creepy people-especially the handsome, dark and elusive Alexander Sterling? Or rather, what are they? Could the town prattle actually ring true? Are they vampires? Raven, who secretly covets a vampire kiss, both at risk of her own mortality and Alexander's loving trust, is dying to uncover the truth." Don't miss the companion books, KISSING COFFINS (2005)(excerpt) and VAMPIREVILLE (2006)(excerpt), both from HarperCollins.

WITCH'S NIGHT OUT by Silver Ravenwolf (Llewellyn, 2000). From the promotional copy: "After her boyfriend is killed in a car accident under suspicious circumstances, Bethany and the other members of her coven try to use the power of Wicca to solve the mystery."

WUTHERING HIGH (A Bard Academy Novel) by Cara Lockwood (excerpt)(Simon & Schuster, 2006). From the promotional copy: "When Miranda, a slightly spoiled but spirited fifteen-year-old from Chicago, smashes up her father's car and goes to town with her stepmother's credit cards, she's shipped off to Bard Academy, a boarding school where she's supposed to learn to behave. Gothic and boring and strict, All Is Not What It Seems At Bardit's everything you'd expect of a reform school. But all is not what it seems at Bard. For starters, Miranda's having horrific nightmares and the nearby woods are eerily impossible to navigate. The students' lives also start to mirror the classics they're reading tragic novels like Dracula, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre. So Miranda begins to suspect that Bard is haunted by famous writers who took their own lives and she senses that not all of them are happy. Complicating things even more is the fact that Ryan Kent a cute, smart, funny basketball player who went to Miranda's old high school landed himself in Bard, too. And the attention he's showing Miranda is making some of the other girls white as ghosts. Something ghoulish is definitely brewing at Bard, and Miranda seems to be at the center of ominous events, but whether it's typical high school b.s. or otherworldly danger remains to be seen." Don't miss the companion book, THE SCARLET LETTERMAN (Simon & Schuster, 2007)(excerpt). Visit Cara online and at MySpace.

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About

New York Times & Publishers Weekly best-selling, award-winning author the Tantalize series, the Feral series and other critically acclaimed fiction for young readers. MFA Faculty, Vermont College of Fine Arts. Board member, We Need Diverse Books. Ohonvyetv!